Christina Anagnostopoulou ‘99, Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Business Administration
Christina received her B.A. degree in Economics and Business Administration from ACT in 1999 and, right after that, her Master's in Human Resources (HR) from the London School of Economics.
Her HR career has been accelerating through executive jobs in fashion (LVMH), banking (GE Money, Unicredit), telecoms (Vodafone), and engineering industries. At the same time, she covered chief HR roles in insurance (Generali) and pharmaceutical multinationals (Zambon). She has worked and lived in Rome, Madrid, Paris, and Milan, where she currently lives with her husband and daughter.
The best memory I have of ACT …
it is more than a memory. It is my strong relationship with two of my best friends that I met there that I will keep forever. I never came back home to work or live after ACT, but Laura Hasapoglou and Christina Ioannou are always ‘with me’ anywhere I go.
My favorite professor was…
Caterina Ioannou. She taught European Studies, which I loved as a subject, but most of all, I respect her for following her dream and passion. I remember her saying that one day, she would leave her work and study to become a doctor, and I know she did so—hats off.
My favorite spot on campus was…
the cantina… I have so many laughing memories of long coffee breaks with friends….
ACT helped me to…
understand the value of diversity to open my horizons to different cultures and ways of being and doing. Thanks to the exchange programs, I did my sophomore year at the American College of Madrid in Spain. That experience changed my life forever.
The elements that characterize the identity of ACT graduates are…
the capability to work in teams, adjust, integrate, and dream big.
For me ACT…
has been an injection of curiosity, a window opener to the world, and a place where I shaped my personality towards an international mindset and career.
The best part of my job is….
growing others. I believe a lot in the value of a positive legacy, which is unrelated to financial results. The real job of a leader is to grow and enable others to flourish, be courageous, and speak up.
I consider this an important moment in my professional journey…
a few years ago, I had a big job offer in Paris… Everybody said, ‘What a pity it is not in Milan,’ ‘Where will you leave your 5-year-old daughter?’ and ‘You cannot keep a family if you are away.’ So for more than two years, I commuted three days a week, my husband supported me, and my daughter is now proud of me for that choice. Would I do it again? Yes, but not at my age; it was exhausting!
In the future, I want to…
be able to contribute to a sustainable and people-oriented future for the companies I work for and have a positive influence in terms of personal and professional development to the people around me. I also want to start slowing down and spend more time in my house in the Cyclades… I am a big fan of making career space for the younger generations, and I will soon start to put it into practice!
